Frederick john iiartman



(No Mode!) F. J. HARTMAN. STRINGED INSTRUMENT.-

No. 586,032. Patented July 6, 1897 u I! lll yrig. e.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

FREDERICK JOIIN HARTMAN, OF IVASlIIN-GTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

STRINGED INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,032, dated July 6,189'?.

Application filed September 9, 1896. Serial No. 606,294. (No model.)

To til whom, t may concer/e:

Be it known that 1, FREDERICK J cnn Hanr- MAN, of I'Vashin gton, in theDistrict oi' Colu 1nbia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stringed Instruments, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to produce a musical instrument, termed avibrine77 for the sake ol distinction, in which a tone of great volume,inellowness, and richness of qualit-y can be obtained.

The foregoing and such otherobjccts as may occur from the ensuingdescription are obtained by the combination and arrangement of partshereinafter described, and set fort-h in the claims appended hereto.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figurev 1 is a front elevationof my vibrine complete. Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3, a centralvertical section; and Fig. 4E is a sectional view thereof, taken atright angles to Referring to the ligures on the drawings, 1 indicatesthe body part of the instrument, preferably shaped as illustrated andconiposed of the front and back pieces 2 and 3 and the side pieces 4cand 5, formed either of a continuous strip or of sections, as may bedesired.

6 indicates the neck, to which the side pieces are secured, andterminating at its opposite end in a head 7, preferably slightlyinclined and provided with string-adjustment mechanism consistingr ofstring-shafts 8, pron vided at the opposite sides of the head with smallworm-gears 9, actuated by worms 10, designed to be rotated by wings 11.It should be noted that the wings 11 ot the principalstring-adjustmentmechanism project forward instead of toward the rear, as usual, thenecessity for this peculiarity of construction being made apparenthereinafter.

12 indicates a fret-board of ordinary construction extending from thehead 7 to a circular aperture 13 in the front piece 2, which latterconstitutes a sounding-board.

The principal strings 14 are secured at their upper ends to the shafts 8and at their lower ends, as usual, to an adjustable tailpiecc 15 of anysuitable design.

The back piece 3 is provided with an extension 1G, extending beyond thebody part 1 and bent at its upper end, as indicated at 17, to meet thehead 7. The side pieces are likewise provided with narrowT extensions 1Sand 19, secured at their edges to the extension 17 and enlarged, as at20, to constitute the sides of au auxiliary head.

21 indicates a front piece secured between the edges of the extensions1S and 19 and constitu ting therewith and with the extension 1G a hollowauxiliary neck, the part 21 constituting what l will term anauxiliary-neck sounding-board and being perforated, as at 22, for theemission of sound.

23 indicates an auxiliary sounding-board secured contiguous to but notin Contact with the back piece 3 and supported thereon by any suitablemeans, as, for instance, brackets 24, extending across the body part orarranged at an angle, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l-.

The auxiliary sounding-board extends 'from a point adjacent to the lowerend of the body part nearly to the auxiliary head and is provided withapertures 25 and 2G, corresponding in dimension and location with theapertures 13 and 22.

27 indicates the auxiliary strings, secured at their upper ends toauxiliary-string-adjustment mechanism 2S, carried by a curve bracket 29,which serves to stiften the auxiliary head, as well as to provide asecure bearing for the adjustment mechanism, the actuating-wings otwhich extend rearwardly or in a direction opposite to theactuating-wings ll of the principal-stri11g-adjustment mechanism.

The auxiliary strings extend through the auxiliary neck and body part,in slightly-divergent relation to a string-bracket 3l, to which they aresecured by any suitable means, as, for instance, pins 32,bridge-pieces33 and 34: being provided beyond each extremity of the auxiliarysounding-board 23 for the purpose of securing a proper clearance of saidstrings.

It may be noted that the extension 16 of the back piece is somewhatwider than the auxiliary-neck sounding-board 2l, and that the sideextensions 18 and 19 are consequently located at an angle. The purposeof this construction is to secure a sufiicient width of IOO theauxiliary neck to accommodate the auxiliary strings without making thefront of the auxiliary neck too wide for the proper manipulation of thehand while fretting the instrument.

The sounding board 23 and auxiliary strings may be removed by unscrewingthe back, which is made removable for this purpose.

Vhile I have described and illustrated what appears to be a preferableembodiment of my invention, it is obvious that the instrument might bemade of any desired forni and design calculated to secure the bestacoustic results, or that the employment of principal and auxiliarystrings might be embodied in any connection other than that described.It is also obvious that means might be provided for fretting both setsof strings simultaneously or for effecting their simultaneousadjustment.

The operation of my instrument is as follows: The strings of theprincipal set being vibrated by the fingers or other means, theauxiliary string corresponding in tone will by reason of what is knownas the affinity of tone be vibrated by the sound-waves produced by thefirst vibration and will produce a tone consonant with the tone of theprincipal string, it being apparent that the auxiliary or secondaryvibration would be augmented by the strings in the auxiliary set of aplurality of strings of the same tone. The auxiliary set illustratedconsists, however, of sixteen strings, representing, for instance, theeight tones and eight half-tones in any desired key.

I do not limit myself to the details of construction herein shown anddescribed, but reserve to myself the right to cha-nge, modify, or varyat will such details within the scope of my invention.

Vhat I claim isl. In a musical instrument having a hollow neck, thecombination with a plurality of sounding-boards, of a principal set andan auxiliaryset of strings adjacent to each of the sounding-boards, theauxiliary set of strings extending into the hollow neck portion of theinstrument, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a musical instrument,the combination with a body portion and neck,of an auxiliary hollow neck located beneath the first-named neck, and ahead uniting said necks, substantially as described.

In amusieal instrument,the combination with the hollow body portion,neck, and head, of a hollow auxiliary neck, an auxiliaryhead, aprincipal set of strings and adjusting mechanisin therefor, an auxiliaryset of strings arranged beneath the principal set of strings and withinthe body portion, and extending substantially the entire length of thehollow auxiliary neck, and auxiliary-string-adjusting mechanism,substantially as shown and described.

et. In a musical instrument,the combination with a hollow body portionprovided with a perforated front piece constituting a sounding-board, ofa hollow neck connected to said body portion, and an auxiliaryperforated sounding-board located within the body portion and extendinginto the said hollow neck, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a musical instrument,the combination with the hollow body portion,of a solid neck connected thereto, an auxiliary hollow neck arrangeddirectly below said solid neck and also connected to the body portion,and a head-piece extending verticallyfrom the hollow neck to the solidneck for uniting said necks, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a. musical instru ment,the combination with a hollow body portionprovided with a perforated front piece constituting a sounding-board, ofa hollow neck, the upper portion of which constitutes a sounding-board,and an additional sounding-board located within the body portion andextending into the major portion of the said hollow neck, substantiallyas shown and described.

7. In a musical instru ment, the combination with a hollow body portion,of a solid neck connected thereto, a hollow neck also connected to thebody portion and located directly beneath the said solid neck, so as toforni a space between the two necks, and a head-piece for uniting saidnecks, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a musical inSti'uinent,the combination with a body part providedwith an auxiliary neck and with a front piece constituting asounding-board, of an auxiliary soundingboard within the body part, andan auxiliaryneck sounding-board, substantially as specified.

9. In a musical instrunient,the combination with the body portion andhead, of a plurality of necks, one arranged above the other, and soconstructed as to form a space between said necks, substantiallyasdescribed and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony of all of which I have hereunto subscribed my name.

FREDERICK JOHN IIARTMAN.

lVitnesses:

GEO. R. MARBLE, Louis G. JUnit-IU.

IOO

IIO

